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On November 5, 2016, the UN Security Council renewed the arms embargo it slapped Eritrea with since 2009 (resolution 1907).

Ten member states voted for the resolution while five (Angola, China, Egypt, Russian Federation, and Venezuela) abstained.

The Security Council also extended the mandate of the UN Somalia-Eritrea Minoring Group (SEMG) until December 15, 2017

Eritrea has been lobbying with many influential countries to have the sanctions lifted.

Emphasizing the statement of the representative of the United Kingdom, the US representative stressed that Eritrea’s “non-cooperation was not the path to getting the sanctions lifted.”

SEMG has not found evidence that Eritrea supported the Somali AlShabab. However, the US representative said, “that was difficult to corroborate because the Monitoring Group had not been allowed into the country.”

The Security Council expressed “concern over reports by the SEMG of ongoing Eritrean support for certain regional armed groups, and encouraging the SEMG to provide further detailed reporting and evidence on this issue.”

The Security Council deliberated for 45 minutes on Somalia and Eritrea and passed the resolution on Eritrea.

One of the main topics concerning Eritrea was the issue of missing Djiboutian POW’s. Members states differed “over [Eritrea’s] Support for Al-Shabaab Terror Group [and] Release of Djibouti Prisoners.”

Eritrea and Djibouti took prisoners of war when the two countries had a brief border clash between 10 and 12 June 2008.

Simultaneously, Qatar brokered a ceasefire and arbitration and in 2010, it deployed a military contingent to stand at the border area between the two countries.

Though Djibouti has released the Eritrean POWs shortly after the Qatari mediation started, the Eritrean government never mentioned anything about them. However, it took Eritrea eight years to release the Djiboutian prisoners.

Eritrea has stated that one prisoner has escaped from prison while another has died in its custody. It denies that there more prisoners in its custody.

Qatar is frustrated

The Qatari mediation went through many rounds of shuttle diplomacy and bilateral meetings with Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Ismail Guelleh of Djibouti. So far, the mediations resulted in the release of prisoners, but it is yet not completely resolved.

Meanwhile, the Eritrean president has been cajoling the United Arab Emirates for months to provide him with financial and gas that Qatar has turned lukewarm and has stopped its generous financial support.

Qatari diplomats are frustrated by the mediation efforts that it embarked on and couldn’t resolve. Eight years after the clash, the border issue between Eritrea and Djibouti is not yet resolved.

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This morning, former minister Berhane Abrehe, who authored two books and publicly challenged Isaias Afwerki, …

Kalihari Snake

Good morning all (GMT+3) Top 5 Reasons for Eritrea’s Current Poor State of Affairs: 1) Ethiopian Government (Had Ethiopia complied with the EEBC ruling there would likely be no more PIA) 2) U.S.A. (Oh how corrupt you are when it come to your regional interests…”do as I say and not as I do” 3) U.N. Security Council (Why no sanctions on Ethiopia for not respecting EEBC decision?) 4) PIA (Bad boy deserves credit for his crimes) 5) Eritreans living in USA/West (Why have you not actively lobbied to hold the U.S.A. and U.N. accountable for Ethiopia’s non-compliance with EEBC and why have you therefore in connection, not therefore questioned U.N. sanctions placed on Eritrea?)

Simon Kaleab

Selam Kalihari,

Top 5 Reasons for Eritrea’s Current Poor State of Affairs:

1) The ungovernable nature of the people of Eritrea [which also applies to Ethiopia].

2) The personality clash and rivalry between Isaias and the late Meles Zenawi.

3) The aggressive vilification campaign by the G15 against Isaias.
4) The failure of Ethiopia to abide by the border commission.
5) The total grip of the economy by Eritrea’s ruling party/government.

Kalihari Snake

Good afternoon Simon (GMT+3): Interesting your ranking is. Just not sure on points 2 and 3. In regards to point 2, I believe that that on the Ethiopian side, it was others in the TPLF central committee and not Meles that were largely controlling decision making processes. Regarding point 3, I have mixed feelings.

Simon Kaleab

Selam Kalihari,

Point (2):
There were personality clashes and rivalry, as to who is top dog in the region, between Isaias and the late Meles Zenawi. There was a build up towards conflict for many years. The lunatic activities of TPLF cadres served as a trigger.

Point (3):
The G15 behaved in a way uncharacteristic of EPLF veterans. They spilled their ‘disagreements’ with Isaias aggressively out in the open. This was very unwise, which resulted in the darkening of the political atmosphere in Eritrea. They knew the game, but ordinary people are paying for the consequences.

MS

Dear Moderator
I’m terribly sorry, and I have to embarrass myself by telling you what happened, because I was so sure I saw something new and that’s why I was acting strange. I was working on several windows of the computer, and it appears an old article grabbed my attention. I related it to a comment that appeared a couple of days ago on the comment section “Recent popular awatistas” which I did not read at the time but thought that a new article was up and that I would read it when I got time. And while doing searches on related topics, it surfaced. Anyway, I’m sorry to waste your time. Here is the old article of Semere (I don’t remember reading it at the time of its publication, perhaps, I was turned off to most of the exchanges Ali Salim and Semere did during that period).
goo.gl/gPGqcj
Thanks for the patience.

Saleh Johar

MS and all Awatistas,
Now you know what the moderators have to go through. It’s okay but I am sure any moderator will appreciate a little patience from you when things seem to be wrong. At any rate, I hope this is a lesson to all of us.

Hello Awate
What happened to Semere Tesfai’s latedt article? I came across it while searching a related topic.
Thanks.

MS

Selam Moderator

“Please tell us what hapened to it”
I would not ask if I knew what happened to it.
Anyway, this is the article I’m asking about. I have not seen it up on the front page, but it’s obviously under Awate’s URL.
goo.gl/DFvq5R

Thanks.

blink

Dear Readers
Does any one in his right mind believe that DIA is in shortage of weapons , arms and so much of it.